Even though most people are familiar with cashew nuts (I think), I am almost sure many people do not have the slightest idea about the fruit that produces the cashew nuts.
Well there you have it, the jocote de marañón or cashew mombin or as Javier calls it, cashew apple. Although I think the word apple does not apply for the cashew mombin or for the caimito either, which, I recently learnt, is called in star apple in English; go figures! I think the English language needs more fruity words ;-).
Last year we learnt that jocotes or red mombins are related to cashew mombins and thus both fruits are called jocotes. Can you say hawkÅttes?
Do you want to know which part of the jocote de marañón produces the cashew nut, do you? Well, just ask and we will be happy to give you the glory details of just how the cashew nuts are produced.
The Cashew Nut Origin Aside: As requested by several of the readers of AntiguaDailyPhoto, here is the recipe for turning the seeds of jocote marañón (cashew mombin) into cashew nuts. As Claudia pointed out, the nut comes out of the funny looking stem, which is actually the seed. Well, the seed, but with with a carapace. So you need to burn or toast the protective cover first (see picture 1 below) to get it to crack open and give you the already roasted nut (see picture 2 below). Things to keep in mind before you go burning the cashew armored seed: 1. The shield carapace produces a very strong smell as the oils and fats in it begin to burn. 2. The oils and fats inside the armored shield also produce a lot of smoke as they burn. 3. It’s best to roast the armored seeds in the left overs of slowly burning charcoal or wood logs. Last but not least, make sure you don’t over burn them as it happened to me. 🙁
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Pues this pic makes a nice wallpaper on my work computer.
Good morning Rudy I mite be over to see you some time today Friday Until then chow Sincerely Tom
Si, dinos!
Bring on the details, I’m curious!
Very cool. Never seen this before!
😛 “se me hizo agua la boca”…
haha – the nut comes from that funny looking stem on the top- it gets roasted, I believe. I loooooooove this fruit. It has a sweet but tangy consistency, it can be a bit messy to eat – I remember that. Love th3 colors on this one Rudy.
Never care for the tastes of the fruit, but love the cashew nuts. emromesco, you are right great desktop picture.
Yes I’m very interested to know how the cashews are produced :0)
I have updated the entry with the instructions for roasting the cashew mombin seeds to get the cashew nuts. Check it out.
Jocotes is awesome…such a unique flavor..
I once ate a raw nut from the fruit and it made me feel sick.
Why do you call them guatelamalan fruits? these fruits are also found all over other central america countries and the caribbean , other south asian countries such as India and Pakistan also produce these tropical fruits ….
Actually this fruit is related to the mango. The difference is that this one grows the seed on the outside. If you compare the shape of the seeds they look similar. It is not at all related to the Jocote. I think we call it Jocote Marañon because when they rippen the beautiful colors are similar to those of the jocotes. I work at the Ontario Food Terminal in Canada and have been trying to bring these 2 fruits up here from Guatemala but they are just too delicate to transport and would spoil in transit. Most of the cashews we get here come from India and I buy 100 Lbs. every week so you can imagine that may be at least 100 times more the weight of the actual fruit.
¿What do they do with it???You can only get them here frozen or in jars.
Que rabia! pues el sabor de ambos es indistinguible. Recuerdo cuantas camisas manche comiendo marañon y quemando las pepitas. AH que recuerdos de infancia! Algun dia podre traerlas aqui a Canada….. pero tambien “Algun dia sere colocho” dijo el GÜISQUIL!!!!
Hi Oscar, where there is a will, there’s a way. I am sure you fill find a way to bring jocotes de marañón to Canada. Also, thanks for all the juicy information in your comment.
I’m in Florida and about 3 years ago I planted many seeds and one was later transplanted to mine backyard is showing flowers and fruits and I smiled thinking I will taste its fruit again.
I am Omoteso based in Africa, with a very large amount of Cashew plantation in my area, But nobody thinks about the exploitation of Its Juice, Please can someone introduce me to the market where i can meet Buyers? Please do as soon as possible.
Who knows George if this is true or just another African Letter. Be careful!
I love your site. I amazed myself that I could remember the name of jocote marañon and could spell it well enough to google it! We had a tree of the fruit in our garden in Tiquisate, when we lived in Guate and I remember my Dad making a ‘BBQ thing’ out of an old paint pot and him showing me how to burn off ‘the outside’ which is all my 7yo self remembers calling it. Happy days. ☺️